CA 470: Outline ? 1/21/09 Week 1, Thursday I. INtroduction Larger question for week: How do ?factors? that social scientists identify as common to revolutions relate to circumstances that constitute a ?rhetorical situation?? II. revolutionary movement vs. reform movement Social and political movements James DeFronzo (Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements (2007) ? Revolution/Revolutionary Movement: A social movement in which participants [organize] to alter drastically or replace totally existing social, economic, or political institutions. vs. Reform Movement: Attempts to change limited aspects of a society, [such as] changes in government policy, rather than in the structure of government itself or any major institution. All the revolutions studied in this course actually begin as reform movements, seeking limited change. Democratic revolutions ? origins in reform movements Reforms sought: de jure (changes in law, policy, official practice) vs. de facto (see below) Two key developments in shift from reform to revolution: 1) Emergence of impasse 2) Change in perception of impasse Hope of change by reform becomes abandoned ( a revolution Even when met with small success, limited reforms will never lead to meaningful change Even with stunning legal victories, the civil rights victories faced an impasse Talked about by Martin Luther King Jr. Couldn?t just work through the legal system Change in perception may be gradual OR follow a dramatic event A rhetorical discourse emerges Discourse often hijacks the reform movement, changing its character in important ways *Establishment or the restoration of civil rights to a group previously denied these rights - look for the extension of liberty, quality & equal rights [democratic governance] Successful movement outcomes: Changes in law or public policy vs. More fundamental transformation: ? leveling/equalization (or overturning) of relations between groups Change becomes institutionalized at two levels: 1) De jure (changes in law, policy, official practice) locally or nationally 2) De facto (changes in daily practice, attitudes, habits of interaction) ex: gradual, though unfinished process of integration of African Americans 2 functions of political discourse. Mobilization. Reminding people of the movements? original ideals & shared principles of the past. Some studies look at necessary and sufficient conditions III. Critical factors (DeFronzo model) 1) Mass frustration - resulting in popular uprisings (among urban and/or rural populations) 2) Dissident elite political movements - divisions among groups that have money, power, education, or all three 3) Unifying motivations 4) A severe political crisis paralyzing the administrative and coercive capabilities of the state 5) A permissive or tolerant world context (i.e., other governments don?t get in the way ? sometimes help) ? James DeFronzo, Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements (2007) *These factors constitute context. IV. James Scott ? Liminal moments/Charismatic acts & responses to these Liminal ? of, or relating to, an initial or transitional phase in a process Hidden transcripts What people are really thinking when on the surface they behave in a subordinate way to some authority figure or power structure Reversals of humiliation moment of the first declaration place the tone and mood experienced by those who are speaking defiantly near the center of analysis speakers are part of the situation ideally, these need to be public ( more powerful declarations come out of the roots of the hidden transcript charisma is connected with context V. THE ?Rhetorical Situation? What it is and is not Rhetoric: the use of symbols to induce cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols -Kenneth Burke Study the circumstances surrounding communication in addition to the words & acts Rhetorical situations are not situations in which speaker, audience & subject come together they go beyond the persuasion rooted in context Rhetorical discourse comes into existence in response to a situation The Rhetorical Situation (Bitzer): Rhetorical discourse comes into existence as a response to a situation, in the same sense that an answer comes into existence in response to a question, or a solution in response to a problem. In a rhetorical situation, the situation is marked by an exigence. Exigence (exigency) an urgent need or demand in a rhetorical situation: the situation requires not just a response at some point, but a more immediate response - - - - - ex: John Edwards Presidential Candidate ? denying affair and denying having fathered a child out of wedlock when the National Enquirer got involved, they reported he gave money to mistress SO he had to give a public response Edward?s aide said it was his child to cover up the reality He tried to avoid the situation for a long time, but eventually was forced to speak Aide was going to reveal it in a book Trial about money he gave to mistress - - - - - One step further ? situation controls the rhetoric and rhetor (speaker) [Next week, will compare Bizter?s model to the alternative view of Richard Vatz, testing both models by looking at a speech given by Mario Savio at UC-Berkeley in 1964.]

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